Kindred spirit…

Thursday morning I picked her up from the airport after what was quite an uneventful journey actually. Surprising, as there are road works everywhere at the moment. The journey to the airport is not the easiest and I am not the most patient driver in the world either. I have discovered though that my driving much reflects the music that I am listening to. Therefore, I found something mellow to tune into for the journey.

The weather has turned. It was raining intermittently for most of the journey and while that is not ideal for motorway driving I quite enjoyed just moseying along, listening to music and having some head space.

I pulled up at arrivals at exactly the same time she did, her flight having been slightly delayed while the pilots get used to flying in shit loads of cloud again. I spotted her immediately and pulled in at the side of the road. She does not change and I suppose neither do I, we still look remarkably like we did all those years ago, with the exception of a few extra pounds and our older but wiser *cough, wrinkles.

They charge £400 per minute to use the road that runs parallel to the airport so after an excited hug we threw her tiny hold all in the boot and headed off, still a few quid lighter for the 30 second journey from one end of the road to the other. Capitalism at its shiny best.

The two of us talked non-stop all the way home. It’s a miracle we made it home and we are not still driving around the M25, as I do not concentrate well when chattering incessantly. I had to check several times that we were actually heading in the right direction and not on our way to Bristol.

Since Thursday it has been all go. I am knackered and that is putting it politely. I am sleeping with Tom, which is not ideal but our Sofa’s are not built for comfort and in order for Ruth to have some space of her own (and the fact that she snores like an old man), it was that or sleep in the shed, neither held much appeal to be fair but I think I prefer Tom to a shed full of logs and Spiders. Although Tom’s legs are just as spindly. If he kicks me once, he kicks me a half a dozen times a night. Only a Mother could love him sometimes but waking up to his beautiful, peaceful expression as he sleeps is just about worth every moment of his tossing and bloody turning.

This morning I had to drag myself out of bed, conscious of it being a blog day and needing some peace and quiet I thought now would be the ideal time to start it at least but I can barely keep my eyes open, even my cup of tar like coffee is not shaking the sleepiness off. The rest of the house is still sleeping and it is nearly time for lunch. It has been a full on couple of days.

Lazy mornings, jam-packed afternoons and late nights spent up till all hours playing boards games, talking, laughing and stuffing our faces with snacks and ice cream. Ruth who has apparently never played Cluedo in her life, has suddenly turned in to Miss Marple. We are a competitive lot when it comes to board games, Elsie is pretty certain that she is cheating and is watching her like a hawk, either that or she missed her vocation in life and really should have been a detective.

Tom spends most of the game Clue-less not quite working out that it is supposed to be a process of elimination and wondering why he keeps being shown the same card every time. If you can’t shoot it or drive it through a building he simply doesn’t get it.

It’s been really lovely having some company for a few days, it’s been great for Tom and Elsie as Ruth spoils them rotten but it’s been even nicer for me to have my old pal around. It’s just nice to have someone to chew the fat with, someone who you have common ground with, we are very similar, some would say too similar but we have always been friends right from the first moment we met, all those years ago in L’Estartit. We do not always keep in touch, it is sporadic and it has been only more recently that we have both made more of an effort to see each other but not for one minute have I never considered her to be one of my closest friends.

There are just some people with who you have a connection. I get on with most people and do not find making friends a chore. Friends come and go through life but they are always still friends, most of the people I consider to be friends have been invaluable at various stages in my life and just because we are maybe not as close now as we once were, or we may not see each other as often as we once did, it makes them no less important. The impact that they had on my life at the time or still have now holds the same relevance today as it did then.

The memories that you make with friends old and new are some of the best memories you will ever have. We should never underestimate the value of friendship and the joy it can bring.

Ruth will be gone again soon and I will miss her the minute she goes, it is not always easy sharing your home and long term we would pretty quickly get on each other nerves I expect but for the short term it has been lovely and much as I am looking forward to having my bed all to myself again, we will be sad to see her go.